


The repairman

by Zhisanin



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-03-12
Packaged: 2018-10-03 06:02:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10237436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zhisanin/pseuds/Zhisanin
Summary: Inspired by some real-life repairs, betaed by Dragonsigma (thank you!)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by some real-life repairs, betaed by Dragonsigma (thank you!)

The repairman pushed his greasy cap back on his balding head, rubbed his too-high forehead, then sighed and looked at the pieces and parts laid out on the canvas in front of him.

"Well," he said after some deliberation,"it is not impossible. Not impossible at all. But it's gonna be a tough job."

The owner, if possible, paled even more. 

"What do you mean, a tough job?"

"You see, this here is not the newest system and it wasn't properly maintained, either. I can see that. I'm called to repair wrecks like this every day. As long as it runs properly, or at least somehow, why pay money for it, then the surprise comes when it breaks down unexpected. People then would pay any money just to make it work again, but by that time it’s usually rack and ruin, so...

"I see, I see that," the owner cut in, clutching her shirt above her chest, "but can you repair it?"

The repairman pulled his cap back to its place and took a piece in his hand. 

"Of course," he said. "This one doesn't even look that bad. It will run for thirty more years or so, it just has to be cleaned properly. Pump, pipes, everything. You wouldn't believe how much dirt and muck and grime collects in a semi-open system like this. And then it all ends up in the pump which gets choked and stops. And that’s when I'm called."

"Will you do it now? Please?"

"You see, I'll put it back together, since I already disassembled it, but the scrubbing and all will be your job. I’ll give you the chemicals and tell you how to use them. Not that difficult, just pay attention, because the chems are undiluted." 

He reassembled the pump with practiced hands and put it back into its place. He quickly checked the joints for leakage, then picked three small, brown vials from a compartment of his old, wooden tool crate. 

"There," he stated decisively. "This here, you put five drops of this into your morning coffee. Will be bitter as gall, but there’s no helping that. This is regret: a strong solvent, this will break down all sludge, grime, dirt, everything. With your lunch you take three drops of this other one. This is grief, like soap or detergent, solubilizes it all. With dinner you take three drops again from this." He flicked the last one with a finger. "Be careful, this is sweet but don’t overdo it because it would ruin the effect of the other two. This is forgiveness, this will rinse the whole system, head to toe. That's all, here you have your invoice, you pay one year altogether. Don't worry, at the end it will be like new. Well, almost... but hey, I’m an oldtimer in this trade and you can believe me when I say that it is a heavy-duty device. The heart always is." 


End file.
